A Little Too Early
by GenesisSol
Summary: Ryoma joins Seigaku Middle School just a leeetle too early, just a small year or two. And enters a class with people older than him, like Momoshiro and Kaido. This is NOT a yaoi fic. And this is my first fic; do read it :D
1. Chapter one: Hey! You're too small!

A Little Too Early

Ryoma joins Seigaku Middle School just a leeetle too early, just a small year or two. And enters a class with people older than him, like Momoshiro and Kaido. This is NOT a yaoi fic. And this is my first fic; do read it :D

Hey everyone, thanks for clicking on this fic to read it, please enjoy! (and review after that).

Disclaimer: Once and for all, P.O.T. is mine, so there, now go sue me or something. Don't pester me to write this again.

Chapter one: Hey you're too small!

It was the best day of Ryoma's life. No more rushing, no more chasing balls, but just a normal school life as an elementary student. Elementary right? Yea, eleven-year-olds generally went to elementary school. Ryoma lied down on his bed. It had been one hectic day for him. This entire day he was running around his new house unpacking and re-arranging their household items, under the command of the retired tennis champion, who had his nose buried in explicit magazines. Ryoma was royally annoyed when he saw his father doing absolutely NOTHING while ordering him about. But now ii was over. He could laze on his bed for as long as he like, go to elementary school, learning elementary stuff, which he already knew. But unbeknownst to him, his father had a different plan for him, and was just filling up a form to confirm Ryoma's acceptance for school. Nanjirou chuckled as he signed off on the bottom of the form. It read, "I _________ agree that Echizen Ryoma will be enrolled as a student under Seigaku Middle School…" Snoring could be heard from Nanjirou's room as he fell into a deep slumber.

---

The next day

"Wakeywakey!" Ryoma opened his eyes slightly. It was still dark, but his sharp eyes could make out the fuzzy shape of a cat "floating" in mid air, as well as his father's head under it. The Chinese cat jumped off and started scratching his face.

"What in the world is your problem! Are you crazy waking me up at 6a.m. in the morning?"

"Oh dear, little Ryoma is getting angry," Nanjirou purred trying to imitate the cat and failing badly. "C'mon get up and have breakfast and prepare for school"

"Damn, what crazy school did you enroll me to, I said I wanted one that started in the afternoon."

"It's a surprise! You'll love it."

"Yea, right…"

--

1hour later

Ryoma stared at the wonderful 'surprise' in store for him. Inscribed on a shiny metal plate were the words "Seishun Gakuen". The pissed off Ryoma turned his head 180 degree to stare daggers at his father, but apparently, the old man had disappeared, unsurprisingly. Ryoma sighed and walked into the school. Tonight that old pervert was going to die. Ryoma caught sight of a long line of student, assuming they were registering themselves; he went forth to join them.

After 20 freaking minutes of standing in a queue, generally motionless, Ryoma was finally standing in front of the counter. As much as he tried to suppress it, his feeling of triumph radiated from him.

"What's your name?"

"Echizen Ryoma"

"Alright, please hold on for a second… Oh! You're that special case 11-year-old! That's amazing! I bet you're really smart!" All people within hearing range automatically turned their heads to look.

Ryoma, not very pleased with the attention grunted.

"Oops, sorry, please forgive me. Would you please go to room 27 on the second floor?"

Sighing, Ryoma walked past the crowd and climbed the staircase, trying to ignore the stared and looks he received. It was a bad day for Ryoma and it got even worse, for he found himself walking into the wrong room on the second floor.

"Kawaii!" A few girls exclaimed as the young boy walked into their classroom.

"Damn" Ryoma muttered under his breath. "A third-year class room"

"Hey Chibi did you lose you way? Where were you heading for?"

"Room twenty seven" He said, trying once more to ignore the eyes on him. Fortunately, a guy noticed his discomfort and led him to his destination. As they were walking, the third-year showered Ryoma with a hail of questions.

"So, how old are you?"

"Eleven" Ryoma responded indifferently.

"So, why are you here?"

"Some stupid father."

"I see, you should appreciate them you know. Anyways you do know who's in room 27 don't you."

"No, not really."

"She's the head of the tennis club." Ryoma's eyes widened as he understood where the situation was going.

"Damn" Ryoma muttered. His stupid father had obviously signed him up for Seigaku, and they accepted, based on his tennis skill. This obviously meant he was going to join the tennis club, which obviously meant his hope for a normal school life was destroyed. This obviously means that Ryoma was pissed. A whole lot of obvious facts.

"Here we are. Before you go, what's your name? Mine's Isako. You'll get to know me later on"

"Echizen Ryoma" The young Echizen said as he walked into Room 27.

--

In Room 27

Ryoma caught sight of an old lady, probably late fifties. "Ohayo, I'm Ryuzaki. So you're Echizen Ryoma? You don't look like your father at all."

Ryoma's questioned, "You know my father?"

"Of course I do, I was his sensei when he was just your age."

Ryoma's eyes widened as thoughts swirled through his head. _So this is the person who trained my father to become the world champion. Maybe she will be able to help me to beat that pervert. What did she ask me to come here for? Should I join the tennis club? It might help me out after all._

While Ryoma was drowned in his thoughts, he did not notice the old lady smile slightly. The method Nanjirou told her to use was so effective, at this rate, Ryoma would want to join the tennis club, just as his father had planned. She chuckled, at times her student could be so scheming. Some coughing from Ryoma broke her from her train of thoughts.

"So… How do I join the tennis club?"

The old Ryuzaki smiled…

--

Ryoma strolled down the narrow hallway to his class, meanwhile his mind was lingering on the events of today. Firstly, he was going to be studying at a FREAKING MIDDLE SCHOOL. Next he was going to join the tennis club. This has been weighing on his mind for quite some time. He had traveled from America to Japan to take a break from tennis and live as a normal student, but now, he had made the choice to enter the tennis club. Sigh, this day couldn't be worse.

--

Classroom 1-7

Ryoma looked up at the sign. 1-7. Checking again to make sure he was at the right room, he knocked on the door twice. He definitely did not want to go into another third year room accidentally.

"Come in!"

Hearing the reply to his knock, he opened the door and walked to the teacher.

"Good morning. I am Echiz…"

"Oh here you are!" The teacher cut him off mid sentence. "I was expecting you to be a little bit later, but it doesn't matter. We are doing some class bonding activities. Would you like to join?"

Ryoma wanted to reject but the look on his new teacher's face looked like she wouldn't accept a 'no'. Grudgingly, he agreed.

"Class let me introduce you to a new student. He's a special case student and is eleven this year. But this won't make much of a difference. I hope that you will be able to be his friend nevertheless."

And for the next hour, Ryoma suffered from boredom from his 'class bonding session'.

--

After 'Class bonding session'

After one dreadful hour, Ryoma heard one of the best sounds in life. The bell.

"Ah, there goes the bell! How unfortunate, we were having a great time." Ryoma rolled his eyes. "Well, goodbye class, we will meet again tomorrow. Please remember to sign up for your choice club! All the best!"

The moment their teacher walked out, a classmate decided to tease Ryoma.

"Oh! So you're the special case student! I bet you're really smart!" He said in a sing-song voice. Two of his buddies sniggered behind him.

Fortunately they were cut off by another classmate. His hair was dark and spiked up. "Shut up and go away Arai. You're not the smartest student either."

Arai shut up and glared back at him, then walked out of the room with his two buddies. Just then, the dark haired boy caught sight of Ryoma walk out through the back door of the room and ran to catch up.

"So you're really smart eh?" He said with a smile. Ryoma grunted. "You should be a little more social. I'm Momoshiro and you are?"

"Echizen Ryoma"

"I see, so you're going to be with our class for the year, you better watch out for Arai. He's one loudmouth..."

"And so are you." Ryoma muttered.

"Hey! I heard that!" Momoshiro shouted and thumped Ryoma on his head.

"Ouch…" Ryoma said and rubbed his head lightly.

"So what club are you joining? I'm joining tennis! I've got lots of experience! I bet I'll be a regular next year. Did you know Seigaku's tennis team is reaaally strong?"

"Really?" Ryoma looked up with slight interest.

"Yea like Tezuka for example, he's a sophomore this year but he is great!…That's right. I need to warn you. This year's captain is quite violent. He's style of play is very dangerous. You'd better not mess around with him." Ryoma's mouth opened in an O shape and remained silent. _This will be fun, I want a match with the Tezuka guy and Buchou._

"Well I better get going, need to sign up for tennis club, see you tomorrow what's it again?"

"Ryoma"

"Oh yea, bye then." Momoshiro turned around and walked off, he remembered he had one unanswered question left. He spun around 180degrees and found that Ryoma had disappeared in the crowed. _Oh well, looks like I have to find out about his club tomorrow. _

--

Meanwhile Ryoma was wandering around the school to get familiarized with it, when he found himself looking at the tennis court. He saw many Seigaku students already on the court playing tennis and other doing exercise. Ryoma's opinion of Seigaku was raised one notch. _Not bad, it's the first day of school and they're already working hard._ Still inspecting them he walked into the court, subconsciously.

"Hey what are you doing here freshman?"

"Oh shit." Ryoma muttered.

"Aren't you a little small? Anyway are you going to join the tennis club?"

"Probably"

"I see," The sophomore grinned and rubbed his chin. "Let's get you started then."

--

With Momo

"Sigh, so bored, so bored." Momoshiro spoke to himself. Just then he caught sight of his long time classmate. "Hey Kaido! There you are!" The said bandana boy turned to look at him. Momoshiro ran up to Kaido. "Hey did you join the tennis club already?"

"Yes" Kaido grunted his one word answer.

"So where are you going?" Momoshiro's answer came into sight almost immediately. He saw the rows of tennis courts with the green fence around the perimeter. "Whoa. Cool." Momoshiro whispered silently. Then his eyes trailed on the green haired boy he saw talking to a few seniors. _Familiar, familiar, who is it? _His eyes lit. That's right Ryoma! _Did he join tennis as well? _Momoshiro ran up to him.

--

Back to Ryoma

"Every freshman has to go through this test," The sophomore explained, "See those cans that have been prepared? There are many colors. Now this is how it goes. You have ten tries that you MUST use if you play the game. You will stand at the other end of the court and hit the ball. Now here are the penalties and Prizes." The sophomore handed Ryoma a list.

"HEY! I'LL PLAY TOO!"

Ryoma winced at the voice he heard. _Momoshiro. _The name rang in his head.

"Huff…huff… Yea, I heard the rules I and Kaido will be playing too."

Kaido glared at him but agreed.

"Great", the sophomore said. "Please read the list"

The Momo and Kaido crowded around Ryoma and read the list.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Green: -100yen

Blue: -200yen

Red: -500yen

Gold: 5000yen

Failing to hit a can: -200yen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So I just have to hit the Gold to win?" Momoshiro said excitedly.

"Yup!" the sophomore responded and sniggered softly.

"I'll go first!" Momoshiro shouted and picked up a ball and a racket. Momoshiro looked at the pile of cans. There was only one gold can in the middle, surrounded by 8 red cans, surrounded by 15 blues, surrounded by 25 Greens.

Momoshiro threw the ball up high. Looking at the cans, he stared intently at the gold one and took a careful aim. "Thump" The ball connected with Momoshiro's racket and flew towards the cans. Just a second later, the sound of a can being crushed could be heard. "Damn! A blue can!" Momoshiro shouted disappointedly and picked up another ball.

Normally, the sophomores would be sniggering and happy with the extra money in their pockets but instead they were shocked at the power the freshman had. The ball had hit a blue can and crushed it completely. Even they would have quite some time doing that.

"O MY GOSH A RED! ARGH!" Momoshiro interrupted their train of thoughts. The sophomores looked up and saw another of their cans being crushed. Well, at least the money they got would cover the cost of getting more drinks for cans.

The next eight shots didn't turn out well either. In total, 3 Reds, 4 Blues, 2 Greens and one miss. Momoshiro broke down sobbing as he handed over 2700yen to the sophomores. He wished Kaido good luck and sat on the floor to whine to himself.

Kaido looked at the cans left, there were several holes in the pile of cans as the cans that Momoshiro crushed were removed. Eyeing those holes, he came up with a plan. Kaido took a ball and threw it in the air. Instead of hitting the can itself, he was going to hit the ball into one of the holes and bounce up to hit the golden can. "Whack!" The racket connected and the ball flew into the hole beside the golden can and bounced, a little too high. It missed the golden can and hit a red one instead. Kaido hissed and took up another ball. The sophomores were impressed, that had been very close, and he would have hit the gold can if he put in less force. They watched as Kaido took his next try. The ball flew, from the racket and moved towards the gap between a blue and green can. The ball bounced upwards and curved with the gravity, then flew downwards again. The sophomores looked intensely as the ball moved closer and closer to the gold can. The ball homed down with a thwack and a can was hit, the golden one. However, Kaido looked in horror as the ball bounced again off the golden can, leaving the golden can standing like it was at the start.

"Damn." Kaido muttered. The sophomores were stunned, the ball had touched the golden can! If they hadn't cheated and put stones into it, they would have lost 5000yen.

After the next 8 shots, Kaido pulled out his wallet and handed over a total of 1600yen, Kaido repressed his feeling of disappointment and went to join Momoshiro on the floor.

"I hoped Echizen does well." Momoshiro whispered into the air and watched as Ryoma took his turn.

Ryoma looked at the cans. He knew something was wrong with the golden one. Kaido would have gotten his money otherwise. _Rocks. _Came into his mind. The only way to fall a can with rocks is to hit it from the upper edge. He had learnt this lesson while training with his father, who had also used this dirty scheme.

Ryoma glanced once more at the gold can and whacked the ball. The sophomores felt horror come over them as the can gave way and fell, scattering the rocks all over. Ryoma smirked and swung his racket over his shoulder.

"That wasn't too hard. If I hit it 10 times will you give me the 50000yen?"

Ryoma then proceeded to slam balls into the can until it got disfigured into a piece of scrap metal.

"YEA! NICE! THAT'S WAS AWSOME RYOMA!"

The Sophomores fell on their knees and begged Ryoma, "Please leave us alone! Take this 19000ryo and leave us alone!" they dropped the notes and coins on the floor and ran off in a flurry.

Ryoma picked up the change and gave back to Momo and Kaido what they lost. Momoshiro put his hand behind his head sheepishly, "Thanks." He said with a grin. Kaido merely muttered thanks and walked away.

"Don't worry about Kaido, he's always like this." Momoshiro explained to Ryoma. "Well I go to go now bye…"

"Bye"

Momoshiro picked up his bag and racket and walked off towards the school gate. Ryoma did the same, not knowing of the eyes that had watched him during the can game.

"He's and interesting one." Inui said to the regulars around him.

"Interesting indeed, I would like to have a match with him…" replied the vice-captain, Isako.

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Authors Note

Ta-da! I hope that wasn't too bad. And I've introduced my OC here, his name is Isako (based off my own, Isaac). xD and he will be seen again in the next chapter.

Originally I had wanted to have a short match between Isako and Ryoma but that has to wait. I need to iron some stuff out.

So thanks for reading my first fic ever, and I hoped you enjoyed it.

P.S. Please DO DO DO review the story :D thx

Story word count: 2830

I hope to hit 5k a chapter one day :)


	2. Chapter 2: Three Matches

Hi all, I'm back. Thanks for waiting for my update. In this chapter I get to introduce my OC Isako. :D so please R&R, it helps boost my morale, really. So, enjoy!

Chapter 2: Three Matches

The next day

Ryoma gulped down the last of his milk. "I'm going!" He shouted and picked up his bag, put on his shoes and ran out of home. Behind him, he could hear his father still crying as he attempted to say a goodbye. Ryoma smiled, he had paid his father back.

_Flashback_

"Welcome back Ryoma! How did you like your surprise?" Nanjirou grinned lazily from where he was lying down. Ryoma glared daggers at him. Nanjirou saw that look and enlarged his smile but it disappeared when his own son smiled.

Ryoma had actually come home far earlier, but his father was out, in that time he had found every single porn mag in the house. A few had obscene pictures on the cover page and made him nosebleed, but he had accomplished his mission. The scheming Echizen took the books and shred every single page of the books and stuffed them in a plastic bag.

Now, he took it out again and threw it at his father. "AARGGHH!!! MY MAGAZINES, MY LIFE, YOU DESROYED IT ALL. NOOOOO!!!" The former tennis champion hugged the plastic bag tightly and spilt his tears into it. Ryoma smiled sadistically. He took out the last mag, it was the one his father had read 20 times over. The one his father loved the most. (Obviously the most obscene one.) Nanjirou saw it in Ryoma's hand, immediately he fell on his knees and begged. "NOO! NOT MAG-CHAN! DON'T DESTROY MAG-CHAN I'LL DO ANYTHING!" Apparently, Ryoma had some sadistic tinge to himself and decided to pay his father back for the "great surprise", in full. Ryoma took out a lighter and lit the book on fire. Nanjirou's eyes widened and with a cry of "MAG-CHAAAAAN!" Sprinted towards Ryoma and grabbed the book, then ran towards the nearest water source. From the depressed state that his father was in when he came back, he had failed to save his porn mag.

_Flashback End_

Yup, that was fun alright, Ryoma swore to himself that he would do it again someday. "Ring! Ring!" the shrill sound tore through Ryoma's ears. Turning around, his eyes widened as he saw the vehicle speeding towards him. With whatever quick reaction he had, the young Echizen leapt out of the way as the bicycle skidded to a stop. "Whoops! Sorry!" the spiky haired boy apologized as he looked down to see the person he'd nearly knocked down.

"Echizen! Sorry I just turned around the corner and saw you in front of me." The said boy stood up and dusted himself.

"So… you live around here?"

"Yea, the first house after the swerve you just made."

"I see! Hey maybe we could go to school together."

"Perhaps." Ryoma said and continued walking.

--

In class half an hour later

"Hey kid, I hear you're joining the tennis club, let me tell you, you are going to get owned by me, so don't mess around." Arai shouted to Ryoma the moment he walked in. Ryoma rolled his eyes indifferently and sat at his seat.

It was English lesson.

"Alright settle down class." The nearly bald teacher said, "I would like to conduct a diagnostic test to judge your English skills. Please read from page 29 of the text book. Arai, please start."

Arai cleared his throat and tried his best to read the text. He got the words basic sounds down, but screwed up trying to imitate the accent. This caused the entire class to crack up with laughter.

"Haha…Ha! Arai, you suck big time! Haha!" Momoshiro fell on the floor, laughing and tearing and the same time. Arai glared at Momoshiro and retorted, "Let's see you try!"

Momoshiro stood up and read to the class, and screwed up worse. Another fit of laughter erupted. Ryoma said, "Serves you right for acting cool." This time Momo glared at Ryoma, "Fine, you try it then."

Ryoma took his turn to stand up and read. By the end of his narration, Momo's and Arai's mouth were wide open, the teacher himself was shocked. Ryoma had narrated the piece of text perfectly, accent, enunciation and all. Well to say the least, the girls were impressed.

"Sugoi!" a few girls screamed.

"Thank you Echizen, let us carry on."

--

After school

"Hey! Kaidoh, Echizen, we'd better make our way to the courts. Arai is already there."

"Fshhhhh" Kaidoh replied as he and Ryoma picked up their bags. The three freshmen then made their way to the tennis courts.

Soon, their destination came into view, Echizen spotted a familiar shade of hair. White, and long as well, it reached down it's owners back halfway through. Ryoma searched his memory and tried to recall yesterday's train of events. Yes, that's right, Isako! So he was in the tennis club as well.

"Alright freshmen gather up!" Isako told the new students. "Alright sit down and listen up. Now we're going to introduce some members of the club to you. I am Isako, Vice-Captain, please address me with my name." The regulars then took turns introducing themselves. Momo was puzzled with the absence of the captain and piped-up. "Where's Buchou?"

"Er… he's away for a while, he should be back soon." Kikamaru said.

"Alright everyone! Diagnostic test now please move on the courts to play against the regulars." Isako shouted, and the crowd began to move.

--

Thirty minutes later

Kikamaru did a twist in the air and hit the ball into the other side of the court. The freshman looked in shock as the ball flew past him. "Hoi hoi!" The acrobat said as he landed, his hand shaped in a victory sign.

It was mass wipeout, the regulars had made short work of the freshman in a matter of minutes. Only Arai, Kaidoh, Momo and Ryoma were left. "Next!" Oishi called Arai onto the field. Arai shouted conceitedly, "Don't let your guard down!" Fractions of a second later, the ball skimmed past his hair and flew out of the court. Arai's mouth hung on his face.

"Haha!" Momo shouted, "That's what they say, pride comes before fall."

In three minutes time, Arai suffered defeat.

Kawamura finished his match and called for Momoshiro to get on the court. Kikamaru called for Kaidoh on his.

The two judges shouted

"One set match"

"One set match"

"Freshman to serve"

"Freshman to serve"

"Begin!"

"Begin!"

Kaidoh and Momo started their game.

--

Momo vs. Kawamura

Momo threw the ball up in the air and hit it. The ball went flying onto Kawamura's side of the court. The regular raised his arm and in a fluid motion smashed the ball back.

"15-0"

"Not bad power! But you can't beat me! I'm BURNING!"

Momoshiro stared at the awesome power he had seen, he had thought he was strong, but now he met with someone whose force matched and probably exceeded his own.

Momo served a second time, only to have it return in a split second.

"30-0"

At this rate he was going to be put away in minutes. Momo scrunched his face up and concentrated. He was NOT going to be a normal freshman. He knew he had one skill up his sleeves, he had to use it. Momo served again and stared at his senior's movements carefully. Left. He leapt to his side to return the ball. _Good I managed to return it. Now I have to think of a plan. _Momo found the ball back on his side of his court and returned it once more. Then he ran straight in front of the net. Kawamura noticed the movement and decided to go for a lob. Momoshiro looked as his senior twisted his hand upside down and aimed for the ball with an underhand return. He smirked. _Success._ The ball flew towards the sky and curved downwards. There was no one beneath to receive it, instead, he was beside it. Kawamura watched as the freshman leapt into the air and draw his arm backwards, then swung the racket and smashed the ball into the court. The regular saw a streak of yellow flash past him and disappeared, followed by the freshman fall from the sky and land.

"Don!" Momo smirked as he scored his first point.

"30-15"

Meanwhile, on the other side on the fence…

--

With Kaidoh

Kaidoh threw the yellow sphere into the air and hit it towards the regular. The red haired acrobat found no problem returning it. With a thwack, the ball was back on Kaidoh's side.

"15-0"

Kaidoh hissed and sent another ball hurling to Kikamaru, said person leapt to the side and returned the ball. Kaido skidded to the side and lobbed it into the air. Kikamaru jumped into the air and smashed the ball back to the other side. Kaidoh took the chance to do an overhand cut to send the sphere just over then net. Kikamaru eyes widened as he saw the ball pass beneath him, the shock then turned into the smirk. The acrobat dived towards the ground and landed on his free hand, then flipped over the traveling ball and returned it in mid-air.

"30-0"

Kaidoh stood still with shock. Such insane flexibility and reactions. He could hear the annoying "Don" that Momoshiro always said after he executed a Dunk Smash. It was time.

Kaidoh threw the ball in the air and served once more. Predicting the return, he positioned himself to use his trump card.

Kikamaru watched as the freshman predict his move and got into an awkward pose. The bandana boy swung his arm in a fluid motion and sent the ball back. Kikamaru ran to the ball and swung his racket as the ball left the ground. However, he missed the satisfying thwack he should have felt.

"30-15"

"Fshhhhh" Kaidoh hissed as he returned to his position.

Kikamaru was impressed; the ball had been a normal one except after it hit the ground. Instead of bouncing off normally, it went in a different direction. It was going to be hard to counter.

Kaidoh smirked inwardly as he proceeded to deliver a rain of snake shots.

"Game to freshman 1-0"

"Woah, that's some freshman" Inui muttered as he scribbled in his notebook.

--

30 minutes later with Momo

"Game Kawamura 4-4"

Momoshiro's shirt was drenched with sweat. He had managed to keep his service games but he was getting tired, while his opponent was still "BURNING!" Momoshiro picked up a ball and sent it flying, signifying the start of a rally.

Kawamura swung his racket with full force, "DOORYAA!" The energetic regular shouted as the ball flew away. Momoshiro braced himself for the impact and smashed the ball with the racket. "Dammit!" he shouted as the impact threatened to blow the racket from his hand. Placing his left hand on top of his right, Momo did a double handed return.

"BURNING!" Kawamura swung the racket with an underhand cut and sent the ball flying upwards. "Shit!" Momo watched as the ball fly over his head. He turned around and gave a giant leap. Unfortunately, the freshman lost his balance as he stretched out his racket to return the ball. "Dok dok" Momoshiro twisted his head to see the ball resting in his court.

"FIRST-AID! COME NOW" The referee sitting on the elevated chair called out. Momoshiro was wondering what happened when it hit him, literally. "OWOWOWOUCH!" Pain infiltrated his nervous system and sent a burning feeling up his forehead. Soon, images became blurry as he lost consciousness.

"What happened?" Inui shouted as he ran. Kawamura, who was now beside Momoshiro trying to stop the bleeding, replied, "He fell and his head was cut, abrasions on his racket arm as well." Inui diagnosed the freshman's situation and declared him unable to carry on the match. As the two regulars carried Momoshiro on a stretcher to the clubroom, Inui asked. "So what's the score? It's been 30min since the match started."

"4-4, he was quite good." Inui's eyes widened. So a freshman managed to take four games from a regular. He should have watched the match, but he had been concentrating on Kaidoh's match instead.

"His style?"

"Force." Inui nearly fell over in shock. _Amazing! It is known that Kawamura was the king of brute force, but the new freshman had managed to stay his ground, brute force against brute force. Also, the other bandana boy was quite good as well. This year's freshman might be a good batch after all._

--

Back with Kaidoh

The match was going quite well. Kaidoh was a bad match against Kikamaru. Kikamaru was energetic and fast, but he lacked stamina, and that's where Kaidoh shone. Kaidoh picked up a ball and sent it flying. The red haired regular bounced and returned it. Kaidoh got into his stance and threw a snake shot towards said regular. The ball flew past the net and zoomed down towards the ground on Kikamaru's right. The acrobat leapt to his side and swung his racket, only to have it hit blank space. His eyes trained on the irregular ball that had bounced even further to his right. Landing on his free hand, he cartwheeled towards the ball and lobbed in over to the other side.

Kaidoh's eyes focused on the empty space on the regular's left. He jumped into the air and smashed it, pinpointing the corner of the field. Kikamaru bounced back to his left in attempt to return the smash, but the ball skimmed past the edge of his racket.

"G...g...Game to freshman, 5-4"

"Fshhhhh" Kaidoh hissed and returned to position awaiting his opponent's serve. Kikamaru was sweating badly, his strength was draining. Soon, he would collapse. He also could not try to stall and regain energy as it was a match game. Basically, he lost already. The regular admitted defeat, "Ah. Looks like I lose this one. You're very good you know? Well, bye-bye." The acrobat then leapt away to get a drink of water. Kaidoh hissed and walked back to join the group of freshman.

--

With Echizen

Ryoma had watched both of their matches and was impressed. They had managed to hold out against the regular and Kaidoh even won. He was also impressed with the regulars themselves. They were better than he expected Japan players to be. He had made the right choice after all.

"Here Echizen!"

Ryoma turned to the source of the voice and found the white haired boy standing on a court with his racket in his hand. Ryoma smirked. It was his turn to prove himself…

--

Meanwhile, the captain had returned.

"So how was the match?" Ryuzaki questioned.

"Piece of cake." The sky-blue haired captain replied. "I crushed them."

"I expected so, but I hope you didn't injure anyone."

"There wasn't a need to."

"Good then. This year we have three new interesting freshmen, in fact I was wondering if they could join the ranking matches tomorrow."

"Hm? How did they fare against the regulars?"

"Momoshiro got injured. The score was 4-4. Kaidoh won, 5-4. That Kikamaru gave up…"

"And the last one?"

"Echizen Ryoma, the 11-year-old freshman. Isako said he'll attend to him…" The captain's eyes widened. Isako rarely played against freshmen, unless they were very very interesting. He would watch this match from his window…

--

With several sophomores and third years

"What? Fuku-Buchou is playing against a freshman?"

"Yes it's true! They're on court 4"  
"Damn we'd better go watch."

"Yea c'mon!"

--

With Momo and the regular in the clubroom

"Bang!" Inui and Kawamura looked up to see Kikamaru slam the door open.

"What the hell are you doing, there's a 'patient' here."

"Huff…huff…You've got to watch, Isako is going to play against a freshman!"

Inui gaped. _What? Fuku-Buchou rarely plays, and when he does, it's usually a totally one-sided win. I MUST GO AND TAKE NOTES!"_

The same was running through Kawamura. _OH MY GOSH, FUKU-BUCHOU IS BURNING! MUST GO WATCH!_

Also, lying down on a cushioned bench, the supposedly unconscious freshman was also excited. _Looks like Echizen is playing a match! I'm so going to watch it!_

"Let's go." Inui declared pushing his glasses up. The three regulars ran out off the room towards the tennis court, oblivious to the sounds Momoshiro was making. The freshman had raised his hand and was croaking, "I want to go to…" But unfortunately, he was probably going to stay here for the duration of the match. Groan.

--

Back with Ryoma

A crowd had gathered around the court. Ryoma smirked; he was going to thrash the Fuku Buchou upside down. Said person addressed Ryoma.

"Which?"

"Rough"

Isako let the racket drop as it rolled on the floor. It was smooth.

"One set match, Isako to serve."

"Begin."

Ryoma focused on the ball that his opponent threw into the air. He zoomed in on the point of contact. Left. Ryoma jumped to the left to return the ball. But the yellow sphere just whizzed past him and collided against the fence.

The young Echizen was annoyed. He had seen the path of the ball, but it was just too fast. The white haired regular threw up another ball.

Ryoma watched as the ball fell. He narrowed his eyes…

--

Gahaha end of second chapter. A cliffy! And my first one too :D Please review and tell me how you feel. Thanks. In the next chapter: Delusion. You will see Isako's style of play so stay with this fic ^_^. Btw, schools has just started and updating will be slower :( But i'll try to get back as soon as possible so stay with this alright?

Off now,

Cheers~

Word count: 2871

Around 40 words improvement :D


	3. Chapter 3: Delusion

Hi all! I know that it took a long time to update. School's just started and my timetable is like, full. I leave at 6 in the morning and return at 9 EVERY night. So I hope my writing hasn't deproved T__T. But on a brighter note, a big thanks to all those who reviewed. I enjoyed reading them and it motivated me to write more. And of course a big hug to all those who are reading this. You are now a more special and more important person. Please do feel proud.

Ok enough ranting. In this chapter you get to see the long awaited match Ryoma vs. Isako :D so without further ado,

Chapter 3: Delusion

The young Echizen was annoyed. He had seen the path of the ball, but it was just too fast. The white haired regular threw up another ball.

Ryoma watched as the ball fell. He narrowed his eyes…

"Say Inui, what's fuku-buchou's style of play?"

"Well, Fuku-Buchou's style is the style of delusion, but he isn't using it yet. Apparently his speed is enough to take care of the freshman."

"Game to Isako 1-0"

"Shit!" Ryoma muttered under his breath. He was too good just too good, Ryoma could barely make out the shape of the ball as it came flying into his court. Originally, he was going to save his twist serve as a trump card, but it looks like it has to come earlier.

Ryoma picked up a ball and threw it into the air, the got into his stance. As the ball fell towards the ground, he jumped slightly, swinging his arm in a full motion. As the ball connected with the racket, it flew and collided with the ground 30cm in front of Isako's feet. The ball spun on the spot for a second then rebounded up into the regular's face. "Thwack"

"15-0" Ryoma smirked.

"Oh my gosh," Inui said, stunned. "The freshman took a point. That was an amazing move, forcing the opponent to block his face and throwing the ball out. He's good after all." Inui then returned to his note taking activities.

"Cool!" Eiji screamed with stars in his eyes.

"Not bad, freshman." Isako said and went back into position.

Ryoma threw up another ball and hit a twist serve and watched with confidence as the ball flew towards the long haired regular. His smug face turned into shock as Isako dodged to his left and swung his racket. "Shit!" Ryoma said as he leapt to the left attempting to return the ball. "Oomph" Ryoma muttered as he fell face first on the floor.

"15-15"

"Expected from Fuku Buchou, he sealed the freshman's move immediately." Inui noted.

"Wow, scary." A few freshmen whispered to each other.

Ryoma concentrated as Isako swung his racket to return his twist serve. He had already come up with a plan to counter the regular's fast balls. He just had to react fast after he'd predicted the path of the ball. Left. Ryoma leapt the moment the ball connected. The freshman stretched his racket out and felt the satisfying thwack as the ball flew upwards as a lob. Isako jumped and smashed the ball back down.

"30-15"

"Commendable, you managed to get used to my balls so quickly. I was right to set my sights on you." Ryoma grunted as he got back on his feet. "Whatever" He said indifferently although inwardly, he was celebrating his return. _Next point is mine. _Ryoma served once more, the long-haired regular returned with his speed ball. Right. Ryoma sprinted to the ball's destination and returned with an underhand cut, aiming for a volley. The regular noticed the move and dashed forward to return the ball, but unfortunately, Ryoma was right in front of the net. Said freshman did an overhand cut to send the ball to the back of the court.

"30-30"

"Not bad." Isako commented as they started another rally.

"30-40"

"You're not too bad yourself sempai."

"Game Freshman 1-1"

"Thanks for the complement." The white haired regular replied and settled in his stance. "I think it's time we move from light warm-up to a more intense one. You still haven't returned my serve yet." Isako said and started off with his fast serve. Ryoma stared at the ball intensely. Left. Ryoma sprinted and returned the ball with a smirk. Then stared at the ball again to predict the next move. To Ryoma's newfound speed the ball was moving in slow motion towards his senior. The slow ball bounced off the ground and traveled to the racket that was waiting patiently there. Ryoma concentrated as the ball moved close to the racket. At this rate, right, no wait, right and forward. Just a bit more… But then Isako's hair swept in front of the ball and blocked it from Ryoma's view. Ryoma heard the 'slow motion' ball connect with the racket and flew into a fast frenzy, piercing through the long white hair and touching the ground in the opposite direction Ryoma had predicted.

"15-0"

_Gah. Unlucky. Doesn't matter next one is mine._ Ryoma stretched his arm out to return the incoming ball. Once more he focused his eyes to predict the path of the ball. Left, definitely left. He predicted, but it was thrown off as the white blocked the view of the ball again. "Shit!" Ryoma shouted in irritation as a yellow streak flashed past him.

"30-0"

Ryoma's eyes narrowed and glared questioningly at the smile on his opponent's face. "It's purposeful isn't it?"

"Maybe." Isako replied. The smile not leaving his face.

"Hoho," Inui remarked. "Fuku-Buchou has finally shown his style of tennis."

"Game Isako 2-1"

"This is the reason why Delusion is feared." Inui stated matter-of-factly.

Game Isako 3-1"

"Awesome! Fuku-Buchou!" A few freshmen shouted.

"Game Isako 4-1"

"And yet Isako hasn't gone all out yet. The freshman surprisingly hasn't given up either." Inui observed, writing into his notebook.

Although Ryoma was drenched in sweat, and losing, he was enjoying himself thoroughly. Apart from his father who could never be serious in a match, he had never found someone who could match his skill. And now he found someone who surpassed him by far. Ryoma smirked as he threw a twist serve at his opponent. Isako dashed towards the ball and positioned his racket to receive the ball. Just as the ball reached the racket, he swung his hair as naturally as possible and covered the ball from Ryoma's sight, in a split second, he changed the angle of his racket depending on the direction the opponent was inclined towards and returned the ball the opposite direction.

"30-0"

Ryoma smirked, he had finally gotten used to the sound. He had also gotten used to Isako's train of thoughts. It's time Ryoma got serious. Said freshman threw the ball up and served. Isako moved as usual and covered the ball. The young Echizen feigned and bent his knees to the right. Then rebounded to the left after he heard the sound of ball colliding against racket. "Thwack!" Ryoma sent the ball back into the other court. Isako widened his eyes in shocked, then let his smile reappear on his face.

"30-15"

"I see you've thought of something. What is it?"

"That's for you to find out."

Ryoma served again. Isako focused his eyes on Ryoma. _He'd managed to return the ball somehow. Ah! He feigned to his right! _Isako tilted his racket and returned to Ryoma's right, expecting him to rebound to the left to 'return the ball'.

Ryoma was about to jump to the left as Isako predicted, but the sound of collision told him to go right instead. Ryoma smiled as he lurched to his right and returned the ball.

"30-30"

Isako grinned. Looks like the freshman was good after all. He'd reacted based on sound. But he expected it. Isako wasn't limited to such a small arsenal. He'd train for hours on end to vary the sound of collision. But of course. He'll let the freshman have one more game to delude himself.

Ryoma smirked. He had sealed Isako's technique. With another two rallies, Ryoma took a second game.

"G…g…game freshman 4-2."

Inui looked shock. The freshman was amazingly good. Being able to tell the path of the ball by sound alone, was a skill that only professionals could manage. At this rate Isako might even lose.

"Having fun?" Isako said"

"Of course." Ryoma replied and readied himself for Isako's serve.

This time he used his hair to cover from the very start. Ryoma listened. Left and forward. He dashed and reached for the ball. "Dok dok" Ryoma widened his eyes as he heard the ball land behind him.

"15-0"

"Damn, heard wrongly." Isako served again. Ryoma listened carefully. Nope, don't need to move. But he was wrong. The ball had landed on the left corner of his field.

"30-0"

Ryoma's mind was spinning wildly. _Impossible! I heard correctly! It was just… _Isako served once more. _Left! No, Right! Forward! Damn I can't tell anymore! My ears tell me this but the ball doesn't follow! _Ryoma fell on his knees panting. Aches and pains writhed through his body. The repercussions of his newfound reaction hit him all at once. _Damn I need more practice. _Isako walked over to Ryoma and helped him up.

"Don't worry! You'll get better in time. You've impressed me in today's match alone."

Clapping sounds emerged from around the court as Ryoma looked around him.

"Amazing!"

"That was a great match!"

Ryoma heard compliments being shouted from the spectators. Inui pushed up his glasses and smiled. That match was one to remember. He had also taken more notes of Fuku-Buchou's style.

--

With Buchou

The blue haired captain licked his lips. The freshman was interesting alright. It will be fun to enter those three into the ranking competition. And just as fun to crush them…

--

30 min later

Isako announced "Alright everybody has done well today! Please be here tomorrow for the ranking tournament, freshmen included! Everyone dismissed!"

"Ahhh, what a tiring day!" Eiji exclaimed. "Oishi, coming?"

"Yea, hold on a second."

Ryoma was just about to leave when Isako ran up to him. "Hey hold on a second. I've just received news that you're taking part in the ranking matches tomorrow, together with your classmates Momoshiro and Kaidoh."

"Oh, ok I'll tell them." Ryoma said before walking off. "So, Momo is taking part as well?" He asked himself.

--

Along the club room road

A small 12-year-old boy sneezed. As he crawled along on the dusty floor, he shouted in agony. "SOMEONE!!! HELP!!! I WANT TO SEE THE MATCH TOOOOO!!!"

A certain sharp eared regular turned towards the source of the sound and saw a small shadow crawling on the floor against the red sunset. The regular pushed up his glasses and thought, _Oops forgot about him……_

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Whew finished! Sorry if you thought it was short, but 4 pages of match scene exhausted my energy. Well thanks for reading and please review as usual. And i have to break out bad news. I think that because of my insane timetable, i can only update on weekends. But pleasepleaseplease stay with this fic. I'll try to come out with onger chapters over the weekends to make up for it.

Next up in Chapter 4: To be a regular

"WHAT? I'M GOING UP AGAINST BUCHOU?!" Momoshiro exclaimed.

"I got Isako Fshhhhh…"

---


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